This reviewer has never
liked compilation discs, seeing them
as a cheap way for record companies
to exploit their back catalogues by
flogging off just the bits that sell.
It can also be a way for people who
like to claim musical knowledge to gain
a smattering without having to do any
serious listening or having to put up
with any of the bits between the ‘big
tunes’. Naxos’s Art And Music series
seems, on the other hand, to be a genuine
attempt without pandering to make the
compilation format into a useful educational
tool. Given the wide range of the Naxos
catalogue the compilers had plenty of
repertoire from which to choose, and
have done so wisely in the case of this
Degas-based disc. Paris in Degas’s time
was alive with music and although the
obvious bits of Carmen do feature there
are also more obscure, but nonetheless
interesting, examples of piano music
by Alkan and the smaller-scale repertoire
in a charming performance of Fauré’s
elegant Dolly Suite. (Unfortunately
the excellent booklet, of which more
later, fails to mention the interesting
manner in which Alkan died – a particularly
pious Jew who lived a hermetic lifestyle,
he was reaching for a pious tome when
his bookcase fell on top of him and
he suffered the fatal consequences.)
It is interesting from an assemblage
of this kind to see just what changes
did occur during a single lifetime –
Degas (1834-1917) was born into the
opening tracks of Adam’s almost classical
score of Giselle and died only
two years before Stravinsky assembled
the final track, his 1919 suite from
The Firebird. In between, Gounod,
Bizet and Fauré had done their
thing and Debussy was to die only the
year after Degas. The presentation of
the tracks in roughly chronological
order serves here to underline the linear
development of French music in this
fascinating period.

The second gripe one
always makes about compilation discs
is the ridiculous lack of accompanying
information that tends to be their norm.
Naxos have taken the opposite approach
in this disc and included a lengthy
and serious essay ranging over the various
art forms in which Degas and his contemporaries
worked. This 13-page essay, by Hugh
Griffith does discuss the music featured,
but only insomuch as it touches upon
the general artistic trends of 19th
century Paris. The disc is about the
music of Degas’s time and thus
most of the booklet is about Degas.
This combination of artistic references
gives a much broader context for the
music and makes the collection more
of a unity than would at first be apparent
from a glance at the track listing.
This approach is to be heartily commended.
The booklet is illustrated with half
a dozen full colour reproductions of
works by Degas, in small format of course,
but high quality print. There is also
a useful chronology juxtaposing the
activities of Degas (for some reason
mis-attributed as Raphael – a less likely
pairing than Raphael’s Madonnas and
Degas’s Dancers would be hard to imagine)
and his contemporaries.

It may have taken years,
but Naxos seems to have found a formula
here, which is a useful informative
source, and a chance to present a fiori
musicali selection of works justifiably.
The performances are first rate throughout
and the presentation is excellent. Given
Naxos’ budget pricing this disc becomes
a more admirable concept again. First-rate
stuff with maximum marks for taking
the compilation format onto a serious
level.

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